iWorld
Supari Studios and Post Office Studios unite for Audible’s Marvel’s Wastelanders campaign
Mumbai: Audible, the world’s premier producer and distributor of Audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment, has partnered with Kulfi Collective to create a global creative campaign for its new original series Marvel’s Wastelanders, an interconnected series of six scripted podcasts. Beginning with Marvel’s Wastelanders: Star-Lord, the entire series will premiere on Audible throughout 2023 and 2024. The collaboration will leverage the expertise of Kulfi’s branded and immersive content verticals Supari Studios and Post Office Studios to build awareness and excitement among audiences across the world.
Ahead of its premiere on 28 June, Audible released the trailer for ‘Marvel’s Wastelanders: Star-Lord’. Conceptualised and produced by Kulfi Collective, the trailer visually brings to life the dystopian world in the show- where most of our beloved superheroes are dead, the world is in shambles, and things seem very bleak. The first season follows Star-Lord and Rocket on their mission as they journey through the ravaged Wasteland and fight to take back the Earth against a looming threat from Super Villain Doctor Doom. Last month, Audible released the Marvel’s Wastelanders franchise trailer to much acclaim. It offered a riveting glimpse of how the remaining superheroes are getting ready to avenge the Earth and restore good in the world. The Hindi version of the series is voiced by leading bollywood stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Sharad Kelkar, Masaba Gupta, Jaideep Ahlawat, Ashish Vidhyarthi, Vrajesh Hirjee, Mithila Palkar, Prajakta Koli, Sushant Divgikr and Yashaswini Dayama among others. Audible is currently offering a two-month free trial to allow customers to listen to their favourite stars in an exciting new avatar.
Through the course of this strategic partnership, Kulfi Collective will develop a global creative marketing plan and an array of assets for Audible’s six-series franchise, including multiple language adaptations for the Japanese, French, German, Italian and Indian markets. Its verticals Supari Studios and Post Office Studios will continue to create a suite of static and video assets that include teasers, trailers for each upcoming part in the series and compelling content for social media and amplification activities.
“We firmly believe in the power of audio storytelling to build and fuel fandom and we’re excited to serve millions of Marvel fans in the languages of their choice. I’m incredibly proud of homegrown Indian agency Kulfi Collective for having led the creative for this franchise”. said Audible – India country manager and SEA expansion director at Amazon VP Shailesh Sawlani,
“It’s been a childhood dream to be part of the Marvel Universe and we can’t thank Audible enough for making that dream come true. As we go about trying to create culture-shaping content, this partnership gave us the unique opportunity to visually build the Wastelanders world for Marvel fans and contribute to a very relevant piece in pop culture. It also marked the first time that an Indian agency created assets for global markets at Audible- something we are very proud of! It’s been an exciting partnership for Kulfi Collective, and we hope that the content we make helps in
getting new audiences to try out this new experience, only on Audible” said Kulfi Collective co-founder & chief creative officer Akshat Gupt.
Supari Studios is an award-winning content studio that specialises in creating differentiated, relatable, and scalable video content properties for Gen Y & Gen Z audiences online. Post Office Studios, on the other hand, is the immersive content studio of Kulfi Collective that produces design-driven, tech-enabled, virtual experiences for brands and platforms. With their collective expertise in online video content, they are sure to be a valuable partner for Audible as it aims to immerse audiences into the world of Marvel’s Wastelanders.
iWorld
WhatsApp may soon let users to pick who sees their status updates
The messaging giant is borrowing a page from Instagram’s playbook as it pushes to give users finer control over their social circles.
CALIFORNIA: WhatsApp is quietly working on a feature that could make its Status function considerably smarter and considerably more private.
According to reports from beta tracking platforms, the app is testing a tool called Status lists, which would allow users to create named groups such as close friends, family and colleagues, and control precisely which group sees each update. It is a meaningful step up from the platform’s current blunt instruments, which offer only three options: share with all contacts, exclude specific people, or manually select individuals each time.
The new feature draws an obvious comparison with Instagram’s Close Friends function, and the resemblance is unlikely to be accidental. Both platforms sit within Meta’s family, and the company has been nudging them toward a common logic of audience segmentation for some time.
The move also fits neatly into WhatsApp’s broader privacy push. The platform has been rolling out enhanced chat protections and is exploring the introduction of usernames, which would allow users to connect without exchanging phone numbers. Status lists extend that philosophy from messaging into broadcasting.
Meanwhile, Status itself has been evolving well beyond its origins as a simple photo-and-text slideshow. The feature now supports music stickers, collages, longer videos and interactive elements, pushing it closer to the social-media-style story format pioneered by Snapchat and refined by Instagram. In that context, finer audience controls are not merely a privacy feature. They are a precondition for people sharing more.
The feature remains in development and has not been confirmed for release. WhatsApp routinely tests tools that are later modified or quietly shelved. But the direction of travel is clear: the app wants Status to be a destination, not an afterthought. Letting users decide exactly who is in the audience is how it gets there.
